The cheapest ATMs in Phnom Penh

Not everyone decides to open a local bank account when they move to Cambodia. Should you? We help you break down the cost of taking money out of ATMs, so you can decide for yourself.

Which one will you choose?

Luckily, there are plenty of ATMs to choose from in Phnom Penh, so you can access your foreign bank accounts and buy all of the cheap beers you can drink.

ATM fees have, unfortunately, been going up in the past year. Canadia Bank ATMs used to be free, now it charges $5 per withdrawal. Mekong Bank also used to have no fees and now has joined the $5 per transaction crowd. Maybank offers free ATM withdrawals for US and European Visa/PLUS cards (we’re not sure about cards from the rest of the world…tell us in the comments section, please).

The rest of us will generally have to pay fees of $4-6 per transaction. At the time of writing, of the banks that charge fees, ABA, ACLEDA, and Vattanak have the lowest, at $4, at Cathay United has the highest, at $6. (Additionally, Cathay United’s notification appears to be an advertisement and does not require consent, much to the chagrin of many unsuspecting cardholders.)

These fees add up — withdrawing just four times per month (which, if you have a typical daily withdrawal maximum of $500, means you have a fairly average $2000/month Phnom Penh lifestyle) and you’ll pay $240 per year in fees (plus any fees your own bank can add!).

Are you one of the unfortunate souls with a MasterCard Debit/ATM card in Phnom Penh? There are a few Visa-only ATMs in Phnom Penh, but it’s not that bad. ABA, ACLEDA, ANZ, Canadia, and Mekong all take both Visa and MasterCard and are the most ubiquitous.

Keeping it riel: there are a few ATMs that dispense Cambodian riel.

Most ATMs dispense US Dollars if you use a foreign card. This is really helpful if you are staying in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (and the main parts of Battambang, Kampot, and Kep) where most prices are in USD, but not so much if you are headed to any of the other provinces and lovely towns villages outside of these urban centers. If you prefer to take out riel rather than go to a money changer, ABA Bank and Mekong Bank ATMs dispense riel.

ABA on Street 57 (next to Sunshine Mart, between St 278 and St 282)Mekong Bank in Phnom Penh Tower (#445, Monivong Blvd, at the corner with St. 232)

(If you use a card from a local bank, you can always withdraw riel.)

Warning: most Phnom Penh ATMs spit out the largest bills possible, and it can be hard to get change (unless you want to be the one in charge of making sure everyone pays their share of food and drink at your next big group dinner). We recommend withdrawing an amount in USD that is not a multiple of $50– taking out $380, for example, will give you four $20s and three $100s rather than the four awkward $100 notes you would generally be saddled with if you withdrew $400.

(NB: Our favorite places to break $100 bills are: Lucky Supermarket, Brown Coffee, and Supercheap. I’m pretty sure they all know this, but they never give us a hard time.)

There are new banks popping up all the time, let us know in the comments if you discover any no-fee ATMs in Phnom Penh.

First of all, Asian banks are notorious for tacking on fees to any transaction they can get away with–especially to those of their own account holders. So don’t complain when go through all the hassles and you get nailed.

Secondly, you’ve been told numerous times to just get a debit card from a bank in your own country that refunds ATM and currency exchange fees.

Have you tried the Maybank ATMs? There’s one (speaking of Phnom Penh) on Sihanouk at street 57, in front of Tous Les Jours, and another on street 178 between 63 and Monivong and, I’m sure, others. They don’t charge a fee at all, so you only pay whatever your bank charges — which in my case is $2.

Also, now that I’ve lived here for a few months, I’m afraid I no longer understand the fuss about breaking hundreds or finding someone to take ratty notes, either one, since the Lucky Supermarket on Sihanouk near Monivong couldn’t care less, as long it’s money.

A warning for anyone using a Citibank visa debit card issued in Australia with Canadia bank ATMs. You are charged 5 USD with no warning and the transaction will show in your account as a 50 USD withdrawal. However when it converts to AUD you’ll realise 5 USD has been added each time. I’m down 25 USD because of this. I had no problems with ATMs in Indonesia or Singapore, both converted back to within a few cents of the exchange rate. A big FU to Canadia Bank!

The ABA ATM on Street 57 near 278 has increased its fee to $5 — and when my bank statement came at the end of the month, it’s curiously $8, instead (not counting the fee charged by my own bank). This is a shame because that ATM was one of my greatest successes of the recon trip I made in February.

Hello there,
I try MB bank (Vietnamese bank) with Mastercard.
No fee at all.
Got 380$
Was 357,20€ on my account.
Exchange rate 359€
I pay the difference rate 1.8€ which is very decent (0,5% of the total amount)

Following the advice of this column scrupulously, I first logged in to live chat with a very helpful customer service representative from ABA Bank, who assured me that the fee for withdrawing $380 USD would only be $5. The ATM on Street 57 in northern BKK1, Phnom Penh seemed to confirm this.

As predicted in this column I received three $100 bills (USD) and four $20 bills.

I took one of the $100 bills straight to Brown Coffee and Bakery at 57 and 294, where the cashier behind the counter didn’t so much as blink before happily making change. Thanks for all the great advice: it made all the difference in helping this go so smoothly.

I have the debit Mastercard issued from Russia. Ussualy I have no problem with withdrowing cash from any atm in asia. But today my request for 420$ from Maybank in Phnom Penn was rejected. Are there anyone who had sucessful withdrowal from Mastercard from Maybank? What was an amount (maybe they have any limitation for mastercard)? What else can be a problem in my case?

Around any market are money changers easily spotted by the red sign showing their buy and sell rates.

Give them your big note and ask for some riel e.g. $20 in 10,000 riel (“moy murn, m’pie dollar”). You will get your riel (at 4000 per dollar plus an extra few hundred usually) and the balance in small US notes.

I will go and get $10 in 1000, 2000, 5000 and 10,000 at different changers, I have broken four big notes and have six weeks change.

I have lived in Phnom Penh and visited it countless of times. I have left for day trips and I can’t recall any of your claims. Of course some cheap guesthouses around 136 or 172 might be complicated, but that’s a general rule for all cities in the world. Some people are more professional than others and sometimes Cambodia requires more patience because the mindset is different or the person hate his job, but the salary doesn’t really make up for a boring job. If you think the city and its people are so rude and bad, why do you bother go there? I have amazing friends among exists and locals, if that wasn’t the case I wouldn’t probably be spending more time there than any other place I go to as tourist, there might be places you would find more appealing, just wondering.

They are not, just not sure the hate against wu.. I agree in some countries they are ridiculous expensive, but not in Phnom Penh. Anyway.. I hope you find better hotels, a lot great ones in all price ranges. The city is nice and country lovely, but I agree sometimes it has it’s challenges.

I suggest avoiding ANZ ATMs after a bad experience. In addition to the $5 charge, their exchange rate was around 8% worse than other banks. They actually have two different rates, which I didn’t realise, but it isn’t clear when you’re pressing buttons on the display that “local currency” means the terrible “local” rate and “foreign currency” means the regular rate.

The other two banks I used had only one rate, which was a good rate. I will never use ANZ ATMs again because that cost me an additional $25 for one transaction compared to other banks! If you do use an ANZ ATM, the “foreign” rate appears to be the one to use, but the rate may differ depending on which currency your bank account uses.

The government of Cambodia are trying to enforce people to use riels more than dollars, probably to stabilize their economy. You might want to cash out at ATM that has riels (I think ANZ do) as its getting harder to break down large usd notes.

Sorry no sources for the this, but rumors I have heard from rich locals. The USD will be in the big cities so not sure how much will change.

That doesn’t sound right. Did it give you a notice saying $7 would be deducted? If not, that is a charge on your bank’s side for an overseas transaction. Most banks have a $3-5 charge for the transaction PLUS 3% of the total for currency conversion.

I do get $15 USD reimbursed every month for ATM fees, but the foreign transaction fee seems like an excuse. Other than the ATM being outside the US, there’s no reason to charge 1% because there’s no currency conversion. Everything is in dollars.

I contacted my bank and asked them. I’m awaiting a response.

In Thailand I didn’t have this problem. There’s a way to easily avoid ATM and preset foreign transaction fees. Sure there’s conversion from the USD to the baht, but it’s almost unnoticeable.

Being a new visitor to Cambodia, I made the mistake of using my American VISA A.T.M. card in an ANZ Bank A.T.M. today. When I took out my money it said it would charge me a $5 service fee. Okay, I accepted that. But when I looked at my bank statement later that night on-line this is what in found:

1. my withdrawal was listed as $305, not the $300 I actually received.
2. the International Service Assessment Fee was $6.10 (2% of the original amount), and
3. I had an additional ATM fee charged by ANZ Bank for another $3.
So, to take out $300 I was charged $14.10 in fees, including double-billing by ANZ Bank for $8. What a bunch of crooks!

I use my US ATM card at ANZ all the time, and they only charge $5. I’m certain that the other fees are from your American bank, most of whom charge exorbitant rates to withdraw money abroad (in this case, $3 plus 2% of the total).

Tried to get some dollars out on my European MasterCard at May bank this morning and it was rejected.Does anyone know why ? I had this at Maybank in Bohol Philippines last month although it was accepted at HSBC in Cebu.

They all charge 5 USD now (also Canadian bank). Maybank is still free, but was not working at the airport so I had to pay the stupid 5$ to get cash with my Debit card (Maestro). Above that, Canadian Bank swallowed my card as I did not take out my card fast enough (I was helping somebody else). Tomorrow I can collect my card at their main building they said on the phone.

Canadia now (19.12.2015) charges 5 Dollars even on credit cards issued in Europe (as mine is) As Peter Hessel has posted: Vattanac is still free: What´s Vattanac? A bank or an ATM in the Vattanac building?

“MasterCard, Cirrus, Maestro, Plus and UnionPay, which are issued outside of Cambodia will now charge US$4 for Cash Withdrawal (except for Visa issued by banks in Europe).
It will take into effect from December 15, 2014 onward.”

Hey,
I wanted to gather some info about forex cards, i will be travelling from india and was wondering whether my forex card containing US$ will be charged a fee when used to dispense cash. Though the forex site says it will be free of charge, but i am not quite sure.

Having spent most of today trying to get cash with a UK visa debit, I have tried all the above and the only to give free cash withdrawals for me was Maybank. Socam bank is a decent option for smaller withdrawals if Maybank is not available as this charges 1.5% rather than the $ 4-5 the others charged. Good luck!

Search Move to Cambodia:

Latest Blog Post

You’ve requested more Phnom Penh gym reviews, and I’m here to deliver. When I first moved to Phnom Penh I joined the gym at the Great Duke (formerly the Intercontinental Hotel). The Great Duke gym is seriously underrated and probably Phnom … Continue reading →